How Creative Recovery Leads to Serenity
If you’re living the creative theory then the payoff is a life of passion and purpose. But on top of that, you’ll also notice that following a creative strategy actually increases your serenity.
Here’s how:
Life becomes smoother with the 3 strategies in place
There is always going to be the potential for external events to make an impact on our life and disrupt things. But we can minimize the amount of chaos that we add to our own life by following the 3 strategies of the creative theory:
1) Caring for yourself
2) Pushing yourself to grow
3) Networking with others
You can see how taking good care of yourself will eventually lead to more stability in your life. Less abusing of yourself and your body, more emotional stability, and healthier relationships will all contribute in some way to making you more serene. Taking good care of yourself leads to peace.
Pushing yourself to grow in a holistic way will also reinforce this idea. Many times our growth results in emotional maturing, when we learn how to better deal with the chaos in our lives.
For example, as we push ourselves to grow emotionally, we become more mature in the sense that we can better accept things that we can’t change. And so we learn acceptance on a new level and can use it as a tool for reducing our reaction to the chaos in our life. In this way we become better equipped to handle any chaos in our life.
But the 3 strategies actually reduce chaos over the long haul. Note that we actually focus more heavily on the first strategy (caring for self) as we maintain sobriety and less heavily on the third (networking). This shift naturally reduces the amount of chaos and disruption we might experience in our life by reducing our dependence on others as a crutch for recovery.
That’s an important idea so let me rephrase it: in early recovery, networking with others in recovery is important. As you progress and start living the creative theory, networking with others is no longer as important in order to sustain sobriety.
When considering serenity, note that networking with lots of other recovering addicts can sometimes become an unexpected source of chaos. In long term recovery, we learn how to put distance in between those who might be disruptors in our lives. This is a learning process of course.
A spiritual path develops naturally from creation
The creative theory naturally lends itself to a spiritual path, as there is a heavy focus on gratitude. Every situation has the potential to become a positive event in the form of a learning experience. We become grateful for our learning experiences and thus turn negative events into a positive. This is the dominant attitude of the creative theory and helps keep negativity at bay.
Practicing this gratitude on a regular basis changes the way that we react to things – and that’s what serenity is all about. Chaos pops up in everyone’s life and how you react to those situations will dictate your level of serenity. Using gratitude as a tool is one more way to lessen the impact of those random situations.
Ultimately the creative theory leads us to a life of purpose, which generally involves connecting with and somehow helping other people. When we follow the creative strategies, reaching out to others becomes a source of strength for us.
When we are living the creative life and helping others then serenity will be a natural result of those conditions. Even when things occasionally get hectic we know that we are still doing our best to help others – another reassuring source of strength.
We allow space for others who are not focused on creative efforts
As we progress in the creative life, we become more tuned in to our own reactions to things. This is an increase in self awareness. There is always more learning and growth to be had, so we realize that we are on a spiritual path, we have not “made it.” Consequently, we can see that there is always room for growth, both in ourselves and in others.
A big part of serenity is in allowing space for that growth. We don’t need to be perfect and we should not expect perfection from others. We follow the 3 strategies and do the best that we can.
When that becomes “good enough” for you, then you will experience serenity and peace.
Keith Bray Says:
Differences:Sponsor / Coach
Twelve Differences between your Sponsor and your Coach:
As I chose coaching as my profession, and shared with others that I’d look at working with addicted people and those affected by addiction as a niche within my practise, some who have the honesty to be up front (not snipe behind you back) as me a question, and a good one at that.
I am a recovered addicted person, active in a 12 step program, and “sponsorship” has been an active form of service (freely given) for me. I was asked, “Don’t you see a conflict in roles?” My answer was, and is, the roles are very different.
This tongue in cheek piece articulates the difference nicely!
1. Your sponsor isn’t all that interested in the “reasons” you drank.
2. Your therapist thinks your root problem is your lack of self-esteem, negative self-image, and your poor self-concept. Your sponsor thinks your problem is a 3-letter word with no hyphens: YOU
3. Your therapist wants you to pamper your “inner child”. Your sponsor thinks it ought to be spanked.
4. Your sponsor thinks your inventory should be about you, not your parents.
5. Speaking of your parents, your sponsor tells you not to confront them, but to make amends to them.
6. The only time your sponsor uses the word “closure” is before the word “mouth “.
7. Your sponsor thinks “boundaries” are things you need to take down, not build up.
8. Your therapist wants you to love yourself first; your sponsor wants you to love others first.
9. Your therapist prescribes “caretaking? and “medication? Your sponsor prescribes “prayer-making ?and “meditation?
10. Your sponsor thinks “anger management skills” are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
11. Now that you haven’t had a drink in 6 months, your therapist thinks you should make a list of your goals and objectives for the next 5 years, starting with finishing up that college degree.
Your sponsor thinks you should start today by cleaning the coffee pots, helping him carry a heavy box of literature to the jail, and making your bed.
12. Your sponsor won’t lose his license to practice if he talks about God.
I remain saddened by the rate of people who don’t make long term change in 12 Step programs. I am thrilled to see those that do.
Patrick Meninga and I have been putting together a theory and a process of recovery that will build on the 12 step program and hopefully see more people achieve success. Further, having been in the “fee for service coaching business’ a while, I am pleasantly surprised to see that people take a paid service more seriously than a similar product that is free. By paying, they see the value more clearly. I know that to be true, unfortunately, to some extent in my own life. Go figure!
If you’re interested in more information at no cost or obligation, take a look at http://www.creativeliferecovery.com. Some are finding, particularly in the current economy, the best investment they can make is in themselves and getting the life they have always wanted. 12 Step based coaching!
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